Cringe Dax Shepard Moments That Made Everyone Uncomfortable

Actor-turned-podcast-host Dax Shepard is undeniably one of the industry's most polarizing celebrities, as his candor and unabashed honesty have attracted both admiration and scrutiny from the masses. Shepard's high-profile marriage to Hollywood leading lady Kristen Bell has also become the source of intense tabloid fodder, as the couple has no problem being up front about the realities of their relationship and airing their dirty laundry.

Shepard has courted controversy quite a few times throughout his career, with many of these cringeworthy moments being captured on his popular podcast "Armchair Expert," which he launched back in 2018. Whether he's attempting to play cupid with his already-taken guests or putting his foot in his mouth with off-colored jokes, Shepard seemingly takes these awkward encounters in stride (even when the rest of the world is left with second-hand embarrassment).

The comedian's unfiltered thoughts have frequently landed him in hot water, no matter how innocent or sarcastic he may have intended them to be. Though he is often defiant when addressing any backlash, there's no denying that Shepard has had awkward moments that made everyone uncomfortable. 

In light of Kristen Bell's eyebrow-raising October 2025 anniversary Instagram post to her husband, an uncomfortable interview between the couple resurfaced online in which Dax Shepard joked about hitting the "Frozen" star. The pair were promoting their movie "Hit & Run" when Shepard made the suggestive joke that he had struck Bell a few times after she poked fun at his modified car. In the 2012 sit-down with SheKnows, Bell detailed a time when she got into a car that Shepard had spent two years "souping up," which led to his distasteful joke.

"He was so excited. We drove to brunch, and the first thing I said, five minutes into the ride, I said, 'This sounds like it's gonna break,'" Bell recounted in the interview, prompting Shepard to shockingly respond with, "And then I hit her several times." Never missing a beat, Bell then quipped, "And then I got beat up, and guess what — I never opened my mouth again." The couple is known for their playful banter and sarcastic humor, yet the off-color joke made the interview take a strange turn and prompted the reporter to awkwardly declare they had "quite the interesting relationship."

The bizarre exchange sparked outrage on the internet over a decade later, many claiming their comments glorified domestic violence despite their apparent joking with one another. Much like Bell's tone-deaf anniversary message, the 2012 interview didn't sit well with the media and stunned spectators. 

Dax Shepard faced some serious backlash when he had "Saturday Night Live" superstar Marcello Hernández on an episode of his podcast "Armchair Expert," during which he attempted to play matchmaker for the popular comedian. After admitting he had recently become obsessed with pop singer Sabrina Carpenter (whom Hernández is friendly with), Shepard said he would "try to date her with all my might" if he were in his shoes, before further asking, "Are you not trying your hardest to marry her?"

After Shepard encouraged Hernández to pursue a romance with Carpenter — a suggestion that made for an extremely cringey moment — the comedian respectfully pushed back and revealed that he was in a relationship, which seemed to burst Shepard's cupid bubble. "But Sabrina is awesome. And she's really funny and cool. She's great," Hernández agreed, graciously putting an end to the conversation about his romantic life.

After the episode debuted, the public did not waste any time calling Shepard "creepy" and "disgusting" in the comments on both the podcast's YouTube channel and on social media, many praising how skillfully Hernández maneuvered the awkward line of questioning. One YouTube user even brutally called the podcast host "a mediocre, untalented, and annoying interviewer." Shepard has been married to Kristen Bell since 2013 and they have two daughters together, making his prying into Hernández's private life that much more awkward. 

Hollywood legend Cher made a rare podcast appearance on "Armchair Expert" in January 2025, and for the sit-down, Dax Shepard's wife, Kristen Bell, joined the conversation, as the two had previously starred in the 2010 musical "Burlesque" with one another. Cher made a few pointed (and downright squirm-worthy) comments about the actor and said he was "lucky" to have Bell, whom she also referred to as "definitely the better half."

Instead of moving on from the topic, Shepard doubled down and continued to confront the music icon about her less-than-glowing opinion of him. "Who would you like to see Kristen with?" Shepard asked Cher. "If you get to pick from every available bachelor. They don't even have to be available; there can be some taken ones if you want." Bell seemed shocked by the blunt question as much as the singer appeared exasperated by the podcast host's antics.

Cher seemingly decided to end the perplexing line of questioning once and for all by saying, "The truth is, I trust her. So you must have something that I don't see." Following the cringey moment, Cher did ultimately compliment Shepard for being a good dad, and the interview ended somewhat civilly, but that didn't mean listeners didn't experience secondhand embarrassment from the exchange. "I think we both expected that," Shepard told Access Hollywood when he was asked about the infamous interview. "That's why you love Cher, which couldn't be greater." 

When Brad Pitt made an appearance on "Armchair Expert" in June 2025, Shepard discussed a wild encounter he had with actor Eric Dane while attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He revealed how he almost came to blows with the "Grey's Anatomy" star when they were both on their sobriety journey, saying, " ... The actor Eric Dane, [whom] I now f**king love, I have such a sweetness for him, but when we first were around each other, it was not good. He threatened a dude in the meeting, and I said, 'Let's go, motherf**ker.'"

They pair stepped outside (presumably to duke it out), but Shepard didn't explain how the situation ended, aside from the fact that he and Dane ultimately became friends. Even with their happy ending, the story garnered negative attention, as many felt it was tasteless of Dax to reveal personal details about anonymous meetings. People criticized Shepard for his comments and lack of privacy, especially in light of Dane's ALS journey – the "Euphoria" actor tragically confirmed his life-changing health diagnosis in April 2025.

Since his shocking announcement, Dane has received an outpouring of love and support from his fans, and many did not appreciate Shepard's poorly-timed AA story. Many took to Instagram to point out how inappropriate it was to reveal, with one user bluntly saying, "So much for anonymous, huh," while another wrote, "I know they're friends, but hopefully Eric Dane was okay with him sharing that story. It's called AA for a reason." 

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have had to debunk some wild rumors about their marriage, and during an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in September 2024, Shepard addressed the gossip that he and his wife, Kristen Bell, were swingers. He shot down the curious speculation and discussed how those closest to the couple reacted, telling Barrymore, "We got a lot of texts from other friends of ours saying, 'How could you not have invited me to the swinger party?' I mean, they were teasing, of course, because they know us and they know we're not hosting swinger parties."Despite his proclamations to the contrary, the actor awkwardly reiterated that they have "not crossed that divide with anyone" but acknowledged there are "a lot of hot couples out there." 

This isn't the first time Shepard has spoken about the swinger rumors, as he and his wife had discussed the topic in a 2023 episode of "Armchair Expert." "There was one that said that we hosted org**s or swingers parties," Shepard said to Bell, who pointed out that he was the one who likely started the chatter. "It's because you frequently make key party jokes," she told her husband. "We'll have a dinner party or something, and as we're sitting down, you'll say, 'Everybody leave your keys.'" The whole discussion seemed like an extremely T.M.I. moment for the couple and is certainly among the weird things about Shepard and Bell's marriage that's hard to ignore.   

Neither Dax Shepard nor Kristen Bell has ever shied away from being open and honest with their fans about their marriage, and sometimes their confessions can be a bit too much. For Mother's Day 2021, the podcast host shared a photo of Bell doing yoga naked in their backyard in nothing but knee-high socks. Users were rightfully taken aback by the revealing Instagram post, and Shepard must have loved the uproar, as he shared the image again four years later.

Shepard re-uploaded the raunchy photo on Instagram in honor of Bell's first Emmy nomination in 2025, joking in the caption: "People might not know everything that happens behind the scenes in order to create an Emmy-nominated performance like Kristen's. This may or may not have been a part of her training, but it felt right. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!" While some of Shepard's 4 million followers enjoyed the light-hearted post, others critiqued the comedian for sharing such an intimate photo.

"Just curious, are you more of a 'permission' or 'forgiveness' husband when it comes to posts like this?" one user wrote in the comments. "If I had a wife with such talent and beauty. I don't think I would degrade her like this," another declared in their message. Though sharing risqué photos like Shepard's congratulatory post may be the status quo for the couple, that doesn't mean it won't still raise some eyebrows. 

In an episode of "Armchair Expert," Dax Shepard's parenting style was questioned when he discussed how he lets his two daughters, Lincoln and Delta, talk back to adults so that they can properly advocate for themselves. He spoke about having a conversation with a friend about his children's behavior while out at a restaurant in Nashville. "[My friend is] kind of shook with how our daughters will talk back to us or to anybody because it's very un-Southern, right? ... And she's like, 'Yeah, your kids will let it rip.'"

Unfazed by the awkward conversation, Shepard agreed with his friend's assessment and proceeded to defend how he and Kristen Bell were raising their daughters to be disrespectful. The defiant actor explained why he green-lights this behavior, saying, "I can understand where that seems completely unruly, but I want you to know what I'm prioritizing, which is when they're 19, and their boss is a f**king creep, I want them to talk back."

He continued: "I want them to always advocate for themselves, whether I think they're right or wrong." Shepard and Bell's unconventional parenting methods have sparked heated debates in the past, as the couple had previously come under fire for allowing their children to curse and having a relaxed parenting style. They attracted further backlash for letting their daughters wander around a Danish theme park for seven hours unsupervised. 

During an appearance on "Armchair Expert," "Queer Eye" host Jonathan Van Ness broke down in tears when he got into a heated debate about trans rights and gender affirming care with Dax Shepard. Van Ness, who uses they/he/she pronouns and who is non-binary, pushed back against Shepard's point of view as the host tried to argue both sides, becoming emotionally distraught.

After getting on the topic of anti-transgender rhetoric, the two found themselves debating over gender affirming care access for minors and transitioning athletes. "Some people are very uncomfortable about teenagers transitioning," said Shepard. "How do we know that the person's not gonna change their mind? ... To even question it makes you an enemy. I don't think that's the way forward."

His stance clearly frustrated Van Ness. "I'm a nonbinary f**king trans person. When I talk to my dad or people who say similar things, it's hard to be cool through that," they fired back. "I'm not calling you a transphobe. You can not be transphobic and still have thoughts that espouse trans misogyny and espouse transphobic ideologies or beliefs." Van Ness then began to cry, explaining that they were exhausted by having to constantly have these kinds of arguments. Shepard and his co-host, Monica Padman, apologized for upsetting Van Ness, who brushed it off and simply said, "It is what it is." 

Dax Shepard has no problem getting down to the nitty-gritty and asking very personal questions, and when "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo stopped by his podcast to promote the film, the host questioned her about her hygiene habits. Erivo has had quite a few moments involving shady comebacks, but she did not mince words when Shepard pressed her about her bathroom routine by asking if her long, talon-like nails get in the way of properly wiping.

"I knew you would ask that question," she bluntly said. "My answer is that nobody uses just their fingers to wipe their backside. You use tissue, correct? And you wipe!" Instead of dropping the subject, Shepard continued pushing boundaries. "Then you're just feeling the little tickle of the nails on the crack of your butt sometimes?" Erivo pointed out how she uses tissues to take care of her bathroom needs, and it became abundantly clear that she was unimpressed by the juvenile topic after Shepard asked if he offended her.

"I'm annoyed by it. I'm like, 'Come on, guys.' But I get it, but it's also, like, 'I'm a functioning adult, and I've never walked around smelling like, you know ... '" Shepard has a hard time dropping a subject once he sinks his teeth into it, no matter how inappropriate or over-the-top the discussion might turn. Erivo handled the exchange like a champ and had no problem pointing out just how cringeworthy Shepard's question was. 

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have earned a reputation of being one of Hollywood's most honest couples, but the podcast host revealed a bit too much when he said they rarely bathed their children while on "The View" in 2021. He recounted, "We bathed our children every single night prior to bed as their routine, and then somehow they just started going to sleep on their own without their routine, and, by George, we had to start saying [to each other] like, 'Hey, when was the last time you bathed them?'"

Bell then chimed in and said she was "a big fan of waiting for the stink." The couple chose to speak out about the topic in response to the major backlash Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis received after their own strange confession about bath time. Though they later attempted to clarify their comments, the duo came under fire online for their family's hygiene practices, and Shepard even discussed his own bathing routine.

"I'll just say, for America, Kristen has better hygiene than me," he told Daily Blast LIVE. "So I think in general, because Kristen wears makeup more often than I do, she has to take it off. I'm not in that stuff that often, so I only have to when either a smell is present or I'm in that stuff." In defending his kids' bathing ritual, Shepard inadvertently exposed his own questionable hygiene habits and effectively grossed out the internet in the process.